Restenosis occurs after a variety of arterial insults such as angioplasty, stent placement, bypass surgery, heart transplantation and endarterectomy. Some of these procedures have been practiced for years for the treatment of coronary artery disease. Despite good initial successes and few complications, physiologically significant restenosis occurs between one and six months after treatment at the site of the procedures in a number of patients, and continues to be the main problem associated with the procedures.
To date, pharmacological intervention directed toward inhibiting restenosis has been largely unsuccessful including the use of corticosteroids, antiplatelet agents, calcium channel blockers, anticoagulant therapy, hypocholesterolemic agents and fish oil preparation.
There are data to indicate that there are similarities between native arterial lesions and those induced by surgical procedures and that treatment with angiotensin II site 2 receptor (AT.sub.2) antagonists alone or in combination with heparin or a derivative thereof will prevent or at least slow down the rate of restenosis.
Further, some specific AT.sub.2 antagonists of other structures than described herein, are described as being useful in restenosis in Hypertension, 20, p. 737 (1992).